English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 7 March 2023 — Heat begins to squeeze the inhabitants of the Island, and the demand for energy grows faster than the generation recovers. This Tuesday, many Cubans choked on their breakfasts when Cuban television announced power cuts of up to seven hours in some parts of the Island. “Yesterday in Sancti Spíritus … Continue reading “‘The Blackouts are Taking Off Again’ Throughout Cuba”
14ymedio, Yankiel Gutiérrez Faife, Camajuaní, 21 February 2023 — The hands of Emilio, a 66-year-old farmer, say everything about his trade: rough, firm, and smeared with soot. For decades he has gotten up at dawn, along with his brother Daniel, and they go to work in the fields of Vueltas, a town a few kilometers from Camajuaní, in … Continue reading “With the Blackouts, Charcoal Making Starts Up Again in Cuba”
14ymedio, Madrid, 14 February 2023 — A fire in a cane field was the cause of the disconnection of the National Electricity System (SEN) that affected half of Cuba this Monday from the center to the east of the Island. The disconnection, from Ciego de Ávila to Guantánamo, occurred around 2 in the afternoon and … Continue reading “A Fire in a Cane Field Caused a Seven-Hour Blackout in the Middle of Cuba”
EFE/14ymedio, Havana, January 6, 2022 — The company Unión Eléctrica de Cuba (UNE) predicted for this Friday that the blackouts will simultaneously affect up to 6.9% of the territory during the busiest time. This is the second consecutive day this week with an estimate of blackouts due to deficit in electricity generation after almost three … Continue reading “Cuba Will Suffer Blackouts in 7 Percent of its Territory”
14ymedio, Madrid, 4 January 2022 — Cuba will again suffer blackouts between January and April, although they will be shorter, more localized and in order to do maintenance so that in May, the National Energy System (SEN) is prepared for the start of the high consumption season with the increase in temperatures. This was reported … Continue reading “The Cuban Government Congratulates Itself that Blackouts will Return but Only for Two or Three Hours a Day”
14ymedio, Madrid, 23 December 2022 — The Electric Union of Cuba is about to achieve a week without announcing an electricity deficit. The blackouts, which were a constant during the second half of 2022, have made a partial truce with the Government, which pledged — after the failed prediction of May — that in December … Continue reading “The Drop in Energy Demand Relieves the Blackouts in Cuba”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana | 9 December 2022 — Three floating plants of the Turkish company Karpowership can be seen these days in the vicinity of the Otto Parellada power plant, known as Tallapiedra, in Havana. Of them, only two, the one that arrived on November 15 and one more, seem to be working, … Continue reading “Three Turkish Floating Power Plants Scramble to End the Blackouts in Cuba”
14ymedio, Madrid, 2 December 2022 — The call this Thursday of the Escambray newspaper to its readers to leave a “question, reflection or opinion” for the Sancti Spíritus Electric Company immediately had angry responses. The official media announced that the state company will appear on December 7 in its newsroom “to clarify, as far as possible, the … Continue reading “Newspaper Readers Denounce the ‘Ruthlessness’ Against Sancti Spíritus in the Distribution of Blackouts in Cuba”
Natalia Lopez Moya, Havana | 28 November 2022 — Earlier this month, the Cuba-Mexico Friendship Agricultural Production Cooperative began planting potatoes in the municipality of Alquízar, Artemisa. However, the cold season got off to a bad start, and the power cuts forced changes in the irrigation cycles that have ended up damaging most of the crop. … Continue reading “Cuba: Most of the Potato Harvest in Alquizar Rotted Because of the Blackouts”
14ymedio, Havana, 17 October 2022 — The Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines, Liván Arronte Cruz, and the director of the Electric Union of Cuba (UNE), Jorge Armando Cepero Hernández, were dismissed from their respective positions this Monday. Without mentioning the names of those dismissed, in a brief note, Cubadebate reported that Vicente de la … Continue reading “The Blackouts Cost the Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines his Position”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 11 October 2022 — The leaders of the Communist Party in Bejucal had to endure the shouts of “Freedom in Bejucal,” “The people united will never be defeated” and “Let them leave,” which served as the rallying cry for the protests this Monday night in that municipality of Mayabeque. “They’ve … Continue reading “The Wave of Protests Against Blackouts and for Freedom Continues to Grow in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, October 10, 2022–Antonio Guiteras, a 280 megawatt power plant, could not contribute to the National Electric System (SEN) on Sunday as planned, nor will it be able to do so on Monday. Yesterday, the deficit reached 1.412 MW at the national level during peak hours at 11pm and people went out to the … Continue reading “Cuba: During a Blackout, Residents of Santa Cruz del Sur Boo the ‘Full Bellies Up There’”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 2 October 2022 — With the mobilization of police officers, State Security agents dressed in civilian clothes and military service recruits armed with sticks, the authorities responded on Saturday night to the popular protests on the fifth day without electricity in several municipalities of Havana. The cacerolazos [banging on pots … Continue reading “Repression Breaks Out in Cuba in the Face of the Increasing Protests on the Fifth Day of the Post-Hurricane Blackout”
14ymedio, Havana, 27 September 2022 — A power outage throughout Cuba was recorded around 6:00 p.m., and the country remains in darkness. Official media reported the collapse of the National Electroenergetic System (SEN) from provinces such as Holguín, Las Tunas, Granma, Guantánamo, Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus and Cienfuegos. “At the moment there is a breakdown … Continue reading “A Blackout is Recorded Throughout Cuba, the National Electroenergy System Collapses”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 5 September 2022 — La Guiteras has been incorporated into Cuba’s national electricity system after overcoming the failures that caused its shutdown, news that in any other country in the world would be inconsequential. But in Cuba, in this agonizing summer of 2022, in which the alumbrones [a word coined … Continue reading “From Cuba’s Daily Drama of Blackouts to Unimplemented Innovations, No One Understands It”
